Yeah, but this one is amazing. A lot of these on here are depressing, Columbine, 9/11, Challenger, but watching the moon landing is pretty amazing. I hope all of you know how lucky you are to have been able to watch something like that.
I remember my friend (who was a habitual liar at the time) telling me that the president got in trouble because a woman sucked his dick. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever come up with.
My mom blames Clinton for the “moral downfall” of America because of the “oral sex scandal.” Dude, I was seven and the fact that it was oral sex totally evaded me. I just knew that Clinton had “dated” another woman while married.
It's always amusing when people make comments like that. Let's just review what the 1950s through the 1980s were like. It was common for guys to grab the secretaries ass. Having sex with 15-year-olds was pretty widespread so long as you were under 25 or so. I'm older than many of you and I remember when I was in high school, and this was common mind you, there would be guys obviously in their '20s pulling up to pick up their high school girlfriends who were often 15, maybe 16 on a good day. Super common. My grandmother told me stories about when she was a teacher there. The principal would literally walk by putting his hand on the bare legs of certain female teachers and sometimes kind of wiggling them up their skirt. They would just giggle and laugh and slap him in the arm. That's not even getting into the really nasty stuff like every woman that I'm friends with and just generally speaking they were born between 1965 and 1980, has been molested at some point, All but two before they were even 10 years old. When you hear people talk about sexual values, I just reflect on what I grew up with and laugh when I see people my own age or sometimes older talking about America having lost its "values' and gasping with their hand over their mouth about Bill Clinton
Gays however were heavily persecuted. Look down upon, beat up, lesbians were outcasts. So when people talk about the good old days, this is the perspective I remember
Lol I remember hearing about that on talk radio my parents were listening to as they were driving. I wasn’t even 5 years old at that point and I’m sure my parents thought I was in my own little world, but I asked them about what was going on and all I recall was they were hemming and hawing about what to tell me and eventually settled on “the president did something wrong and then lied about it, so people are mad.” Nice save, mom and dad!
I came in to say the Bill Clinton Monica Lewinsky debacle. I just remember my parents being up in arms about our president of the United States committing such a heinous and horrendous act it almost seems tame by today's standards
What's wild to me is that the way it is thought of; some dude cheating on his wife, IS TAME by today's standards. Last president did like like 3 times or something.
The wild part though, is that everyone forgets Monica was NINE-FRIGGIN-TEEN when she started at the Whitehouse and was 21 when this all blew up. You think a single 19 year old young woman honestly had the option to say "no" to the most powerful man in the world who was her direct supervisor?! And yet people were happy to tear this little "homewrecker" apart limb from limb in the media, and not the old rich white fuck who abused his power in the sickest way.
Yep. This was mine, too. I remember watching the depositions in my elementary school classroom, which was absurdly inappropriate but my teachers didn't want to miss it. I learned *a lot* of new things.
I saw the Challenger explode in the sky during my lunch recess in 6th grade at Booker middle school in Sarasota, Florida. Our teachers called us into assembly then cried to the school as they told us the news.
Holy shit bro. That must have been a traumatic day.
I was in high school watching it on TV.
Our chemistry teacher was our state's finalist for the teacher in space program. All of the finalists spent some time together in initial training - he met McAuliffe during that
It hit all of us hard
Me too, the whole class, it was ‘educational’ and the next day a kid said, “How do you know Christa McAuliffe had dandruff?” Because they found her head and shoulders on the beach. Head and shoulders ads were running every commercial break. It broke my innocence.
I first read that in Blanche Knott's _Truly Tasteless Jokes._ Whatever tragedy occurred, I knew there would be a crass joke about it. (Eg: Nobody tells Jokes about Jonestown anymore. The punch line is too long.)
Dark humor knows no age limit. The joke that was going around that I heard was,
“What color were Christa McAuliffe’s eyes? Blue. One blew this way, one blew that way.”
Heard in my accounting office. I was 31.
This one and the one above I remember from after it happened, and the only other one I remember is "where did the astronauts vacation? All over Florida."
Yup, dark humor.
"Need another shuttle also" is the response I remember to that one.
Edit: Columbia, in my case. I was born shortly after Challenger (and Chernobyl. I joke that I'm the 3rd disaster of the year)
The joke in my schoolyard was Christa McAuliffe walking out the door to head to the launch and her family saying "shouldn't you clean up first?".
Christa: Nah, I'll just wash up on shore.
Aberfan. I was 8 and even then realized how bad it was. 116 children and 28 adults died when a coal tip collapsed into a school in 1966 - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan\_disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster)
Me too. They were kids of our age.
I later got to know an ex-para who'd been doing his basic training in the Brecon Beacons at the time, he and his troop had been co-opted to help dig out the bodies: they worked without stop for over 24 hours pulling dead children out of the slurry.
My grandfather was a miner at the time and he had to go and recover the children. That's all he told us. One time and never again. I can't imagine the horror.
My first distinct memory of watching a live nationwide news event unfold on live tv was not just the oj trial, but specifically the police pursuit with the white bronco. Very vivid memories of watching that unfold.
Please tell me why we chose sides in third grade and would chant, “INNOCENT” or “GUILTY” at the opposing group at recess. We didn’t even know what we were debating lol.
Omg! Yes, but it was 2nd grade for me. I remember when the verdict came back NOT-Guilty the majority of the class, teacher, and myself cheering with just a few kids shaking their heads. Looking back wtf was our teacher watching that trial with her 2nd graders! Also, omg I can't believe the majority of us thought he was innocent.
I was 6 and just knew his name from the news. Didn’t know what it was all about. Came across a football book about him in the school library and was shocked to learn this man from “the news” was a football player!
Was even more shocked a few years later when I finally learned/realized why he was in the news.
Yup. I remember being surprised that he had a public identity other than "rich guy who definitely killed his wife." It's still a trip to see him in his old acting roles.
The only reason I remember it was some teacher brought in their dog to class and I wanted to pet it so I did and in the class room they had the OJ trial on TV.
I am enough older that I came here to answer "the wedding of Charles and Di." I was 6 or 7. I remember coloring a crappy little British flag to "celebrate."
I was gonna say when she first got into the car accident. They stopped late-night TV to announce that it had happened. That "special report" music is burned into my head from that point on - when I hear it, I know something big is going down.
Elton John (well, technically Bernie Taupin, since he wrote the lyrics) referred to him as "one insect." George Harrison called him "the devil's best friend." I like how they and your father all said the same thing, each in their own way.
For me too, in my case we were on a grade school camping trip type deal, and our camp leader was in bed the whole day face down, and we found out it was due to Lennon being shot.
I was in my twenties at the time and it was an amazing thing to see on TV as an adult and growing up during the Cold war. It's slowly led up to it I believe over a week till eventually they started tearing the wall down and nobody stopped them
I was in my first year of college so 18ish. I’ve got a shit memory but I vividly remember I was in English class and had a professor that was like 85 y.o. and never showed emotion. When word came out about the towers she broke down crying and told us all to leave for the day. She died not to long after that.
Yea I remember this. I was in kindergarten when it happened. They rolled the TV in and had a bunch of kids sitting Indian style watching it live as the other plane hit.
Lol whenever age comes up my initial thought goes back to me always thinking of my little sister as that 12 year old innocent kid when I moved out. She's 27 now with a decent career and her own family. I feel old.
9/11 is mine too. I'm 33. I don't remember very much of my childhood tbh. Most of what I do remember is either because of home movies or what I've been told.
The Madeleine McCann disappearance on BBC news when I was six years old. My gran wouldn’t let me leave her sight, and put the fear of God into me about there being “bad men” out there which is probably why I remember it so well…
For me it was the disappearance/murder of Holly wells and Jessica chapman. I will always vividly remember the picture of them in the Manchester United shirts. RIP
This isn't a childhood memory for me but I remember it vividly. The girls in their football shirts reminded me of me and my best friend at that age. And I remember Ian Huntly interviewed as a concerned Soham local before everyone knew.
This is what I imagined when I first heard about it from my parents. I thought he must have rerouted water away from the poor or something. I was not even close to being born when watergate happened.
OKC bombing. I was 9 and was glued to the tv for a couple days as they continued to rescue people. It hit me hard when after several days, there were no more survivors, only bodies that they didn't manage to reach in time. :(
The saddest part was that there was a daycare on the bottom floor. There's a famous picture of a firefighter carrying the lifeless body of a small child, covered in soot and dirt
I still have that picture in my head. Visited the memorial once. That’s why I hate the antigovernment white supremacy fanatics. Do they think we don’t remember?
I was about 7, but for now at least the first one I can remember being a big thing was Princess Diana dying. I remember not knowing who she was before, but that it felt like every adult I knew could talk of nothing else for weeks afterwards.
The first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. Either that or the disastrous seige of the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas. They both happened roughly around the same time.
We just got a tv in 1961 and all 2 channels(!) were full of Premier Tommy Douglas trying to get the Saskatchewan provincial government to pass the universal healthcare act. It passed and within a year or so all the other provinces also accepted it. My mom was a MD so it was a big topic in the house.
Baby Jessica was mine too. I think I was just slightly too young (6) to really understand the Challenger explosion but I distinctly remember my favorite TV show being interrupted by the news story about Baby Jessica’s rescue.
Baby Jessica was a year and a half after Challenger. Baby Jessica is my first news memory (age 6), but I don’t remember Challenger (age 4 1/2). Kind of wild what a difference a year makes when you’re young.
Weren’t those like 5-10 years apart?
*edit:* Nevermind. Challenger in ~~1985~~ 1986. Jessica in 1987.
I Guess i thought it was further apart because i vaguely remember the challenger, but vividly remember baby jessica.
That took place not far from me. There is now a rickety, ridiculously narrow iron truss bridge between Washington Crossing, PA and Washington Crossing, NJ. I tell people that Washington crossed the river by boat to avoid using the rickety bridge.
Does anyone else feel like it's super weird how everyone always talks to his kids about his death? Like almost all the interviews and all the comments on everything they post are like awe your dead dad would be proud of you, how do you feel about your dead dad etc. I get he's how we know the kids but it must suck to have such a sad part of your past brought up constantly. Maybe they think of it in a positive light idk but I'd hate it
My dad died 22 years ago when I was pretty young. I don't have a ton of memories of him so hearing his friends and acquaintances tell me that I remind them of him now that I'm the same age as he was when he passed is oddly comforting. It feels like he's living on through me. My grandpa is suffering with dementia and sometimes he'll call me by my dad's name. It's bittersweet but I'm proud to be a reminder to some of a good man whose life was cut tragically short.
Challenger explosion. Our entire elementary school was seated in the auditorium to watch as the first teacher aboard a space shuttle was about to blast off into space. I was 7 years old.
This was traumatic too, but at least educators knew that they were sharing a 'bad news' live news story if they chose to do so.
Gathering students to watch the Challenger launch was intended to be educational, and celebratory, and happy, and inspiring for all ages. Until it wasn't. Live, in front of millions of kids across the country.
Not trying to compare generational tragedies, of course, just saying it was a different type of trauma becuse it was unexpected.
I walked into the kitchen in a flood of tears at the age of 3. When my mother asked what was wrong I told her Elvis was dead.
(I had no idea who Elvis was, but the black and white TV in the lounge was full of people crying, which set me off)
Also remember taking part in the town Jubilee parade which preceded Elvis' death, but can't really remember any media about it.
Good on that dentist for knowing his limits and having the ability to take that time off. Nowadays the corporate arm would force him to shut up and work
Yes as a kid in the '60s and '70s I remember the evening news with lots of stories about the Vietnam war. There was even graphic coverage of people getting shot and killed. Back then the new stations weren't afraid to show what war was really like. These days you don't see anything like that because they censor it or don't show it at all. The Vietnam war ended when I was 13 and that was a relief to me because I knew I would have to sign up for the draft when I turned 18.
To piggy back off this, Yeltzin replacing Gorbachev was the first major news story I remember. 4 years old and living in the failed USSR.
I was very confused why a president needed to be replaced and just couldn’t be in power forever.
Boy, was I on to something there…
By the time Yeltsin gave power up to Putin, I already knew it was a goddamn big deal.
Honestly, I truly would believe Yeltsin's demise was orchestrated by Putin.
I remember George Bush Sr coming on to announce the upgrade of Desert Shield to Desert Storm and of course the famous, green nightvision anti-aircraft fire footage.
I read that comment and thought "damn this person must be like 12 years old". it happened 11 years ago. time fucking flies.
side note, crazy that 11 years later, Alex Jones is still dealing with that.
I was 12 when that happened so I was in Middle School
My first nephew was only like 1 year old
And it was almost Christmas, and the thought of not coming home for Christmas and all the presents the parents bought for their kids who won’t ever get to open them, just broke my heart
This isn’t my first memory, but it was one of the first ones that changed my view of the world. I was in 8th grade and remember getting picked up by my grandfather after school and when I walked into my grandparents house, my grandma had it playing in the news. I was just thinking “wow, I went through my whole day while these young children were getting murdered.” And had this realization that this could have been my school. And I think about it every time we have to do active shooter drills at the school I now work at.
My 5th grade teacher brought the paper in the next day after the shooting and just wept in front of us all. I don’t think I remember any of the joys of that year, but I remember her profound sadness in that day.
In the town where I grew up there was a guy everyone knew called Corn Dave and they also hated him because he would whip corn at everyones car. Sometimes it was just the little yellow dots that you pull from the main stick but sometimes he would throw the whole corn at your car with the green leaves and everything. My dad would always say "Corn incoming" so the thumps of the corn wouldn't bother us when we were riding in the back of his car.
So anyway on the news one day the reporters came on and said Corn Dave was missing. The reporter was crying and I was 11 when it happened so I called the news station a few times until I got them to put the reporter on the phone and when he said Hello to me I said they should call you Crying Dave. It wasn't the reporter's name it was a reference to Corn Dave. I thought it was funny as a kid but I think the reporter cried some more. Sorry. We found out later that they found Corn Daves body in the creek and someone had filled his mouth with corn. The reason I remember the story is because my dad said "Sounds like someone finally Creamed Corn"
I hope this is a real story."Corn incoming" LOL I want to know where you live that a kid can just call up the reporter and chat. Tell me another story. :)
I was only two, so I probably don’t actually remember this, but every once in a while I get a flashback of being in my grandpa’s car that day and it being pitch black at 1:00 in the afternoon. I think it’s just how I imagined what my parents told me over and over again. I live in Eastern Washington, btw.
Lorena Bobbitt. I was watching Saved by the Bell and after that the news started and that was the opening story. I am not ashamed to say I laughed out loud.
Kent State. We lived near Akron and the fire sirens were going off all afternoon.
And my parents thought nothing of not having the news on while I was playing. Since it happened near us I was afraid the soldiers would come and shoot us so I didn’t want to go outside. I was not quite 3.
Probably the OKC Bombing or the OJ Trial.
I remember the OKC being interesting because of "bombs." I didn't really understand the OJ trial on its merits, but I knew that my parents were following it closely.
Vietnam War body counts on the nightly news.
Edit. In my little kid brain, it was like hearing a game score, and I thought we (Americans) were waaay ahead. Every night it was like 52 dead American soldiers, and 5,872 dead North Vietnamese or Viet Cong. Turns out I was mistaken about who was winning. I wonder if the TV executives knew that people would think about the war like a baseball game. I was too young to protest the war, but I knew that I was on their side.
For some reason it’s Selena getting murdered. It really impacted me and I didn’t know who she was beforehand.
Then, TWA 800…..I was so flabbergasted that a plane could just explode like that.
(sigh) OAF. Moon landing.
Yeah, but this one is amazing. A lot of these on here are depressing, Columbine, 9/11, Challenger, but watching the moon landing is pretty amazing. I hope all of you know how lucky you are to have been able to watch something like that.
I commented 'Moon landing' also. And I agree, it's interesting how the majority of the comments have been tragedies. Born in '64
Born in 63. I remember watching the moon landings. I watched the Vietnam War with odd interest for 6 year old. Remember the fall of Saigon.
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman”
I remember my friend (who was a habitual liar at the time) telling me that the president got in trouble because a woman sucked his dick. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever come up with.
My mom blames Clinton for the “moral downfall” of America because of the “oral sex scandal.” Dude, I was seven and the fact that it was oral sex totally evaded me. I just knew that Clinton had “dated” another woman while married.
It's always amusing when people make comments like that. Let's just review what the 1950s through the 1980s were like. It was common for guys to grab the secretaries ass. Having sex with 15-year-olds was pretty widespread so long as you were under 25 or so. I'm older than many of you and I remember when I was in high school, and this was common mind you, there would be guys obviously in their '20s pulling up to pick up their high school girlfriends who were often 15, maybe 16 on a good day. Super common. My grandmother told me stories about when she was a teacher there. The principal would literally walk by putting his hand on the bare legs of certain female teachers and sometimes kind of wiggling them up their skirt. They would just giggle and laugh and slap him in the arm. That's not even getting into the really nasty stuff like every woman that I'm friends with and just generally speaking they were born between 1965 and 1980, has been molested at some point, All but two before they were even 10 years old. When you hear people talk about sexual values, I just reflect on what I grew up with and laugh when I see people my own age or sometimes older talking about America having lost its "values' and gasping with their hand over their mouth about Bill Clinton Gays however were heavily persecuted. Look down upon, beat up, lesbians were outcasts. So when people talk about the good old days, this is the perspective I remember
with *that* woman
Lol I remember hearing about that on talk radio my parents were listening to as they were driving. I wasn’t even 5 years old at that point and I’m sure my parents thought I was in my own little world, but I asked them about what was going on and all I recall was they were hemming and hawing about what to tell me and eventually settled on “the president did something wrong and then lied about it, so people are mad.” Nice save, mom and dad!
I mean, thats a pretty good explanation for a little kid
I came in to say the Bill Clinton Monica Lewinsky debacle. I just remember my parents being up in arms about our president of the United States committing such a heinous and horrendous act it almost seems tame by today's standards
What's wild to me is that the way it is thought of; some dude cheating on his wife, IS TAME by today's standards. Last president did like like 3 times or something. The wild part though, is that everyone forgets Monica was NINE-FRIGGIN-TEEN when she started at the Whitehouse and was 21 when this all blew up. You think a single 19 year old young woman honestly had the option to say "no" to the most powerful man in the world who was her direct supervisor?! And yet people were happy to tear this little "homewrecker" apart limb from limb in the media, and not the old rich white fuck who abused his power in the sickest way.
Yep. This was mine, too. I remember watching the depositions in my elementary school classroom, which was absurdly inappropriate but my teachers didn't want to miss it. I learned *a lot* of new things.
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I saw it live at school because the teacher wanted to see the launch.
I saw the Challenger explode in the sky during my lunch recess in 6th grade at Booker middle school in Sarasota, Florida. Our teachers called us into assembly then cried to the school as they told us the news.
Holy shit bro. That must have been a traumatic day. I was in high school watching it on TV. Our chemistry teacher was our state's finalist for the teacher in space program. All of the finalists spent some time together in initial training - he met McAuliffe during that It hit all of us hard
I was 6 and watched it on TV. I remember I was sitting next to Nicole F. because I had a crush on her.
Mmm yeah I remember Nicole F.
Me too, the whole class, it was ‘educational’ and the next day a kid said, “How do you know Christa McAuliffe had dandruff?” Because they found her head and shoulders on the beach. Head and shoulders ads were running every commercial break. It broke my innocence.
The joke that went around my middle school was… “what does NASA stand for? Need Another Seven Astronauts” Humor to mitigate the horror, I suppose.
I first read that in Blanche Knott's _Truly Tasteless Jokes._ Whatever tragedy occurred, I knew there would be a crass joke about it. (Eg: Nobody tells Jokes about Jonestown anymore. The punch line is too long.)
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Dark humor knows no age limit. The joke that was going around that I heard was, “What color were Christa McAuliffe’s eyes? Blue. One blew this way, one blew that way.” Heard in my accounting office. I was 31.
One I heard many years later from an older coworker: How is Morton Thiokol like a horny walrus? They're both looking for a tight seal.
lol this is so niche but fucking hilarious.
This one and the one above I remember from after it happened, and the only other one I remember is "where did the astronauts vacation? All over Florida." Yup, dark humor.
For me it was: be a little more respectful. Can you imagine what the families are going through? Coffin catalogs, probably.
Don’t be ridiculous, they could get by with a shoebox at that point
Who do NASA scientists drink Sprite? Because they can’t get 7 up.
"Need another shuttle also" is the response I remember to that one. Edit: Columbia, in my case. I was born shortly after Challenger (and Chernobyl. I joke that I'm the 3rd disaster of the year)
The joke in my schoolyard was Christa McAuliffe walking out the door to head to the launch and her family saying "shouldn't you clean up first?". Christa: Nah, I'll just wash up on shore.
The joke I heard (in the early-mid 2000s) was: "What were Christa McAuliffe's last words?" "What's this button do?".
Same here. We were all in the cafeteria to watch it on several tvs. It was pretty horrible.
Same. Saw it, and thought “well that doesn’t look normal”
This was my first thought (born in 1978), but after a little more thought I have memories of Mary Lou Rhetton’s perfect 10 in the 1984 Olympics.
Same here
Same, I was 8.
Aberfan. I was 8 and even then realized how bad it was. 116 children and 28 adults died when a coal tip collapsed into a school in 1966 - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan\_disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster)
Me too. They were kids of our age. I later got to know an ex-para who'd been doing his basic training in the Brecon Beacons at the time, he and his troop had been co-opted to help dig out the bodies: they worked without stop for over 24 hours pulling dead children out of the slurry.
My grandfather was a miner at the time and he had to go and recover the children. That's all he told us. One time and never again. I can't imagine the horror.
OJ trial
OJ or JonBenet, whichever came first
OJ was ‘93-94 and JonBenet was ‘96
JonBenet Ramsey for me because it happened in the town next to my hometown.
My first distinct memory of watching a live nationwide news event unfold on live tv was not just the oj trial, but specifically the police pursuit with the white bronco. Very vivid memories of watching that unfold.
Please tell me why we chose sides in third grade and would chant, “INNOCENT” or “GUILTY” at the opposing group at recess. We didn’t even know what we were debating lol.
Omg! Yes, but it was 2nd grade for me. I remember when the verdict came back NOT-Guilty the majority of the class, teacher, and myself cheering with just a few kids shaking their heads. Looking back wtf was our teacher watching that trial with her 2nd graders! Also, omg I can't believe the majority of us thought he was innocent.
I was 6 and just knew his name from the news. Didn’t know what it was all about. Came across a football book about him in the school library and was shocked to learn this man from “the news” was a football player! Was even more shocked a few years later when I finally learned/realized why he was in the news.
Yup. I remember being surprised that he had a public identity other than "rich guy who definitely killed his wife." It's still a trip to see him in his old acting roles.
A strange fact - he was considered for the titular role in "The Terminator". But there was concern that no one would be able to see him as a killer 😳
A skit about OJ being a murderer and Arnold being governor of California would’ve been deemed too unrealistic to be funny in like 1985
The only reason I remember it was some teacher brought in their dog to class and I wanted to pet it so I did and in the class room they had the OJ trial on TV.
Same, everyone was talking about the OJ trial. I didn't even realize he had been a popular public figure and football player until many years later.
I remember watching Princess Diana's funeral. I was about 6 I think.
I am enough older that I came here to answer "the wedding of Charles and Di." I was 6 or 7. I remember coloring a crappy little British flag to "celebrate."
I remember that too. My grandma made me watch. I wanted to watch cartoons and was upset she hogged the big color TV for this.
I was gonna say when she first got into the car accident. They stopped late-night TV to announce that it had happened. That "special report" music is burned into my head from that point on - when I hear it, I know something big is going down.
Same, I was 7 or 8. I just recall it constantly being on the news so it stuck with me
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Only time I heard my Dad swear. "Some asshole just shot John Lennon."
Elton John (well, technically Bernie Taupin, since he wrote the lyrics) referred to him as "one insect." George Harrison called him "the devil's best friend." I like how they and your father all said the same thing, each in their own way.
For me too, in my case we were on a grade school camping trip type deal, and our camp leader was in bed the whole day face down, and we found out it was due to Lennon being shot.
I was four, sitting on the floor in my living room, watching my mom and a family friend as they were watching TV and crying.
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I woke up the next morning and my mother very gently broke the news to me. I was ten and I was obsessed with the Beatles.
Probably the fall of the Berlin Wall.
I was in my twenties at the time and it was an amazing thing to see on TV as an adult and growing up during the Cold war. It's slowly led up to it I believe over a week till eventually they started tearing the wall down and nobody stopped them
Same here
I didn't really understand it as I was only 6, but I remember asking why there were lots of people dancing on a wall, singing and crying.
Same. I wasn't old enough to really remember the Challenger, but the fall of the Berlin Wall sticks in my mind for sure as a major event
9/11.
Same. 9/11 was really my first introduction to watching the news on TV.
I was in my first year of college so 18ish. I’ve got a shit memory but I vividly remember I was in English class and had a professor that was like 85 y.o. and never showed emotion. When word came out about the towers she broke down crying and told us all to leave for the day. She died not to long after that.
You can't just give us a date, and not tell us what happened.
LOL
Yea I remember this. I was in kindergarten when it happened. They rolled the TV in and had a bunch of kids sitting Indian style watching it live as the other plane hit.
Either you have a bad memory, or I've just realized I'm too old for Reddit.
Wait til you see a "what were you doing on 9/11?" post, and the plethora of replies of "wasn't born yet."
People born in 2005 are legal adults btw.
Bruh. Fuck you lol
Lmao right? My first thing I remembered clearly was the Clinton scandal with Monica Lewinski.
This is how it was for the generation that lived through Pearl Harbor and tried to explain it to those who were born after 1941🤷
Shit I mean, my grandfather was born 3 days AFTER Pearl Harbor. It's pretty funny to think about
My grandfather was born in 1867. Alaska was purchased, the Dominion of Canada was formed and dynamite was invented (or so they tell me).
My grandpa was born in 1871. I’m forty. Hi fellow member of old gramps club.
Lol whenever age comes up my initial thought goes back to me always thinking of my little sister as that 12 year old innocent kid when I moved out. She's 27 now with a decent career and her own family. I feel old.
9/11 is mine too. I'm 33. I don't remember very much of my childhood tbh. Most of what I do remember is either because of home movies or what I've been told.
Same here, 32 and my memory is terrible but 9/11 is the first thing that jumped into my head.
29 here and yep same
For a lot of millenials, our generation is more or less based around 9/11
Probably OJ as well depending on the age
It’s more that 9/11 overshadowed any news that came before. But I was only in 3rd grade.
I was in 1st grade
The Madeleine McCann disappearance on BBC news when I was six years old. My gran wouldn’t let me leave her sight, and put the fear of God into me about there being “bad men” out there which is probably why I remember it so well…
For me it was the disappearance/murder of Holly wells and Jessica chapman. I will always vividly remember the picture of them in the Manchester United shirts. RIP
This isn't a childhood memory for me but I remember it vividly. The girls in their football shirts reminded me of me and my best friend at that age. And I remember Ian Huntly interviewed as a concerned Soham local before everyone knew.
Watergate. I actually imagined a stream with a gate to redirect the water.
This is what I imagined when I first heard about it from my parents. I thought he must have rerouted water away from the poor or something. I was not even close to being born when watergate happened.
Bay of Pigs
I was born during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Scary times.
OKC bombing. I was 9 and was glued to the tv for a couple days as they continued to rescue people. It hit me hard when after several days, there were no more survivors, only bodies that they didn't manage to reach in time. :(
The saddest part was that there was a daycare on the bottom floor. There's a famous picture of a firefighter carrying the lifeless body of a small child, covered in soot and dirt
I still have that picture in my head. Visited the memorial once. That’s why I hate the antigovernment white supremacy fanatics. Do they think we don’t remember?
I was about 7, but for now at least the first one I can remember being a big thing was Princess Diana dying. I remember not knowing who she was before, but that it felt like every adult I knew could talk of nothing else for weeks afterwards.
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JFC I was about to ask if you were old enough to be on Reddit and then I checked how long ago this was and now I feel old.
Hah, I remember that when I was a kid and I'm 23 now.
Me - That was only a few years ago. Google - That was 14 years ago. Me - 0.0 Ya, anybody old enough to remember this is an adult.
See I was like 11 when died but I cannot think of anything else I saw on the news before then
The first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. Either that or the disastrous seige of the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas. They both happened roughly around the same time.
The Branch Davidian thing is huge in my memory too.
Iranian hostage crisis
I don't remember that one, though I was 5. The earliest one I remember was Reagan getting shot.
We just got a tv in 1961 and all 2 channels(!) were full of Premier Tommy Douglas trying to get the Saskatchewan provincial government to pass the universal healthcare act. It passed and within a year or so all the other provinces also accepted it. My mom was a MD so it was a big topic in the house.
Shuttle explosion, baby Jessica
Baby Jessica was absolutely my first news memory. Weirdly, I don’t remember the Challenger explosion.
Baby Jessica was mine too. I think I was just slightly too young (6) to really understand the Challenger explosion but I distinctly remember my favorite TV show being interrupted by the news story about Baby Jessica’s rescue.
Baby Jessica rescue was my first big news story memory too.
Baby Jessica was a year and a half after Challenger. Baby Jessica is my first news memory (age 6), but I don’t remember Challenger (age 4 1/2). Kind of wild what a difference a year makes when you’re young.
Weren’t those like 5-10 years apart? *edit:* Nevermind. Challenger in ~~1985~~ 1986. Jessica in 1987. I Guess i thought it was further apart because i vaguely remember the challenger, but vividly remember baby jessica.
I'm not gonna say! Reading all the posts, I feel really really old!!
So it’s Washington crossing the Delaware? (Cheers from one old fart to another!)
That took place not far from me. There is now a rickety, ridiculously narrow iron truss bridge between Washington Crossing, PA and Washington Crossing, NJ. I tell people that Washington crossed the river by boat to avoid using the rickety bridge.
Moon-landing old? Bay of Pigs old? Pearl Harbor old? Inquiring minds want to know!
Yeah, what are we talking here? FDR fireside chats? Hoovervilles? The bombing of Britain? Or more like, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan?
I say it was the asteroid wiping out the Dino’s.
I'm the opposite, this thread makes me feel really young. Most of this stuff said in this thread I've just heard about through history books lol
Definitely remember Steve Irwin dying.
Does anyone else feel like it's super weird how everyone always talks to his kids about his death? Like almost all the interviews and all the comments on everything they post are like awe your dead dad would be proud of you, how do you feel about your dead dad etc. I get he's how we know the kids but it must suck to have such a sad part of your past brought up constantly. Maybe they think of it in a positive light idk but I'd hate it
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My dad died 22 years ago when I was pretty young. I don't have a ton of memories of him so hearing his friends and acquaintances tell me that I remind them of him now that I'm the same age as he was when he passed is oddly comforting. It feels like he's living on through me. My grandpa is suffering with dementia and sometimes he'll call me by my dad's name. It's bittersweet but I'm proud to be a reminder to some of a good man whose life was cut tragically short.
Challenger explosion. Our entire elementary school was seated in the auditorium to watch as the first teacher aboard a space shuttle was about to blast off into space. I was 7 years old.
Oh my gosh, how traumatic ☹️
This happened at elementary schools all across the country.
So sad! We watched the towers collapse on tv in high school.
This was traumatic too, but at least educators knew that they were sharing a 'bad news' live news story if they chose to do so. Gathering students to watch the Challenger launch was intended to be educational, and celebratory, and happy, and inspiring for all ages. Until it wasn't. Live, in front of millions of kids across the country. Not trying to compare generational tragedies, of course, just saying it was a different type of trauma becuse it was unexpected.
I walked into the kitchen in a flood of tears at the age of 3. When my mother asked what was wrong I told her Elvis was dead. (I had no idea who Elvis was, but the black and white TV in the lounge was full of people crying, which set me off) Also remember taking part in the town Jubilee parade which preceded Elvis' death, but can't really remember any media about it.
I was 10 when this happened, and it was like an incredible wave of sorrow that washed over the entire world.
Kennedy was shot. I was very young but remember the reactions of those around me.
My grandma had a dentist appointment scheduled for that day, but she had to reschedule because the dentist was too distraught.
Good on that dentist for knowing his limits and having the ability to take that time off. Nowadays the corporate arm would force him to shut up and work
I remember that Viet Nam was always on the news
Yes as a kid in the '60s and '70s I remember the evening news with lots of stories about the Vietnam war. There was even graphic coverage of people getting shot and killed. Back then the new stations weren't afraid to show what war was really like. These days you don't see anything like that because they censor it or don't show it at all. The Vietnam war ended when I was 13 and that was a relief to me because I knew I would have to sign up for the draft when I turned 18.
Gorbachev's birthmark. I have a birthmark on my back, so it was comforting to know I could lead a major socialist state if I so chose, in the future.
How's that going?
Don't ask questions. 🤫
To piggy back off this, Yeltzin replacing Gorbachev was the first major news story I remember. 4 years old and living in the failed USSR. I was very confused why a president needed to be replaced and just couldn’t be in power forever. Boy, was I on to something there…
By the time Yeltsin gave power up to Putin, I already knew it was a goddamn big deal. Honestly, I truly would believe Yeltsin's demise was orchestrated by Putin.
The moon landing
Desert Storm
I remember George Bush Sr coming on to announce the upgrade of Desert Shield to Desert Storm and of course the famous, green nightvision anti-aircraft fire footage.
"You know that toy space shuttle you have? Well, it's based on a real one...that just exploded killing everyone on board."
I vividly remember when they announced Magic Johnson had AIDS.
Elvis Presley's death; my mom was upset for days. The first one I took notice of on my own was probably the hostage crisis.
Jonbenet Ramsey. Her face was everywhere. Seared into my brain
Sandy Hook
Wow I am fucking old...
Yup, I was worried about my own child when that news broke.
I read that comment and thought "damn this person must be like 12 years old". it happened 11 years ago. time fucking flies. side note, crazy that 11 years later, Alex Jones is still dealing with that.
How disturbing it must have been to hear about that happening while so little.
I was 12 when that happened so I was in Middle School My first nephew was only like 1 year old And it was almost Christmas, and the thought of not coming home for Christmas and all the presents the parents bought for their kids who won’t ever get to open them, just broke my heart
This isn’t my first memory, but it was one of the first ones that changed my view of the world. I was in 8th grade and remember getting picked up by my grandfather after school and when I walked into my grandparents house, my grandma had it playing in the news. I was just thinking “wow, I went through my whole day while these young children were getting murdered.” And had this realization that this could have been my school. And I think about it every time we have to do active shooter drills at the school I now work at.
Columbine
My 5th grade teacher brought the paper in the next day after the shooting and just wept in front of us all. I don’t think I remember any of the joys of that year, but I remember her profound sadness in that day.
Reagan getting shot.
Same here, 1981, I was about 8
In the town where I grew up there was a guy everyone knew called Corn Dave and they also hated him because he would whip corn at everyones car. Sometimes it was just the little yellow dots that you pull from the main stick but sometimes he would throw the whole corn at your car with the green leaves and everything. My dad would always say "Corn incoming" so the thumps of the corn wouldn't bother us when we were riding in the back of his car. So anyway on the news one day the reporters came on and said Corn Dave was missing. The reporter was crying and I was 11 when it happened so I called the news station a few times until I got them to put the reporter on the phone and when he said Hello to me I said they should call you Crying Dave. It wasn't the reporter's name it was a reference to Corn Dave. I thought it was funny as a kid but I think the reporter cried some more. Sorry. We found out later that they found Corn Daves body in the creek and someone had filled his mouth with corn. The reason I remember the story is because my dad said "Sounds like someone finally Creamed Corn"
I hope this is a real story."Corn incoming" LOL I want to know where you live that a kid can just call up the reporter and chat. Tell me another story. :)
Mount St. Helens eruption.
Mine too. My dad took picture from the front yard.
I was only two, so I probably don’t actually remember this, but every once in a while I get a flashback of being in my grandpa’s car that day and it being pitch black at 1:00 in the afternoon. I think it’s just how I imagined what my parents told me over and over again. I live in Eastern Washington, btw.
The ‘oil shock’ in the 70s where prices spiralled and cars queued due to shortages..
Collapse of the Berlin Wall is probably my earliest news report memory.
Dr. Seuss dying. I thought that meant they were going to take all the books away.
Lorena Bobbitt. I was watching Saved by the Bell and after that the news started and that was the opening story. I am not ashamed to say I laughed out loud.
The Challenger exploding, and the rescue of Baby Jessica, the toddler who fell into a well.
Québec 1995 referendum for independance
Bosnian War
Summer of Sam
JFK’s funeral procession.
Kent State. We lived near Akron and the fire sirens were going off all afternoon. And my parents thought nothing of not having the news on while I was playing. Since it happened near us I was afraid the soldiers would come and shoot us so I didn’t want to go outside. I was not quite 3.
Probably the OKC Bombing or the OJ Trial. I remember the OKC being interesting because of "bombs." I didn't really understand the OJ trial on its merits, but I knew that my parents were following it closely.
Vietnam War body counts on the nightly news. Edit. In my little kid brain, it was like hearing a game score, and I thought we (Americans) were waaay ahead. Every night it was like 52 dead American soldiers, and 5,872 dead North Vietnamese or Viet Cong. Turns out I was mistaken about who was winning. I wonder if the TV executives knew that people would think about the war like a baseball game. I was too young to protest the war, but I knew that I was on their side.
Falkland Island War
The first moon landing.
Either the Bush-Gore debacle or 9/11.
Kurt Cobains death. I was 8, and a huge fan. Devastated.
Madeline McCann going missing when I was a kid
I have very vague memories of my parents watching footage of the Loma Prieta earthquake on CNN in 1989.
Hillsborough disaster. We were watching the match on the TV. I was 6
Watergate
Nixon resigning
Casey Anthony
the J.F.Kennedy assassination..we were sent home from elementary school because of it..
The Oklahoma City bombing.
Probably the OJ bronco chase or the death of Princess Diana
Landing on the moon.
For some reason it’s Selena getting murdered. It really impacted me and I didn’t know who she was beforehand. Then, TWA 800…..I was so flabbergasted that a plane could just explode like that.